'He's the classic rental politician.'
1. GEORGE WILL, Washington Post columnist, on Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, who has come under fire for accepting large consulting fees from mortgage giant Freddie Mac
'Never underestimate the willingness of politicians to try to avoid making some of the hard choices.'
2. MAYA MACGUINEAS, president of the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, on the failure of the congressional supercommittee to reach a deal that would cut $1.2 trillion from the federal budget deficit
'There will be no miracles ... We haven't promised any.'
3. MARIANO RAJOY, leader of Spain's conservative People's Party...